Guidelines
by SpiritOfFreedom
Summary: Nothing could prepare this young teen for what could possibly be her worst nightmare and new reality. Shortly after finishing the game, she is thrown into the world of The Walking Dead game, only, this time, it's real. Now, she must learn to cope with her knowledge of the future and try to keep the group she has come to love from peril. To become their guideline and change it all.
1. Chapter 1

**Yup, another Walking Dead story, and, I have to say, I surprised myself. Usually, I don't like to even _read_ FanFictions with OC's and here I am writing one. Now, note that this character has nothing to do with me. She is completely made up, and, besides from maybe a few personality similarities, is different. I also think I have really improved in my writing ability, but if you have any suggestions, please let me know in reviews, or in a PM and I will always answer. With school work and other responsibilities that will get in the way, updates may be far apart, but I promise to do my best and get these done as quickly as I can. With that, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The Walking Dead Game**

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She opened her eyes to find herself standing on a eerily familiar road, surrounded by what seemed like millions of demolished cars and puddles of dried blood splashed on the boiling pavement. She gasped and held held her nose as a revolting scent washed over her.

Heart thudding, she searched her memory for any sign of how she got here and what had happened, but the last thing she remembered was sitting in her room, on her bed, with a black game controller in her hand. Which, unfortunately, did not explain a thing.  
Then, it dawned on her; the familiar surroundings, the vulgar smell, the disturbing groans in the distance... It couldn't be, could it? It was impossible! Yet, there she was, standing alone on a cluttered, damaged street in Atlanta, Georgia, states away from her home. Her eyes suddenly focused on a large hole in the railing that lined the side of the lifeless highway.

She placed a hand over her mouth as the shock and complete realization began to take over, causing a queasy feeling deep in her gut. Her hazel eyes glistened with tears in the hot, late summer sunlight with anxiety and her breaths became labored and uneven. Right now, all she needed was to go home, rest, and then figure out what was going on later. Lamentably, that was not an option. She fell to her knees and held her hair tightly with both hands, feeling as if there were a hundred tons of pressure weighing down on her lungs. Reaching into her pocket for her Asthma inhaler, she took two large puffs. It helped somewhat, but it could not calm her nerves or the fast pounding that resided in her chest.  
That was when she heard it. "Officer?!"  
"Oh, God, oh, God. I'm dreaming... I _have_ to be dreaming!" She said to herself in a rushed whisper. Though, it was all too real. The tears she had been holding back finally escaped, running down her pale cheeks, dripping down onto her jeans, and soaking into her long, wavy hair. She knew from experience that she had to kick herself into action if she were to survive in this world she had been mysteriously forced into. She climbed unsteadily back to her feet, pulled herself together, and carefully began to half climb, half slide down the hill to possibly her only chance for survival.  
Cautious not to crash into the black and white vehicle, she knocked on the cracked, blood-streaked window, getting a, "hello, is anyone there?" in response.  
"Hello?" She called back, keeping her voice low, still amazed to hear it was actually him. "Um... Hold on, uh... I-I'll get you out!" She pulled on the door handle, and mentally smacked herself for doing something so stupid. "Of course it's locked," she said to herself out loud, rolling her eyes, "it's a fucking police car!"  
"Hello?" The voice called again. He groaned. "What happened?"  
"Trust me, you don't want to know," She sighed, not loud enough for him to hear.  
"What?"  
"Kick the window, it's the only way out." She moved out of the way as he struck the glass repeatedly with his foot, until it finally gave and shattered. He then pulled himself out of the broken panel and fell flat on his stomach on the steep hill of the forest floor. As Lee pulled himself back up, she turned away just in time before he fell against the car, creating a sickening ripping sound, while letting out a pain-filled cry. "Are you okay?" She asked soberly.  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, through gritted teeth. "Let's just get these cuffs off me." She nodded, and followed slowly behind him.  
"Wait," she said as they approached the dead police officer.  
"What's the matter?" He asked, turning to look down at the 16 year-old.  
"I... Just be careful." He raised an eyebrow, before continuing toward the seemingly lifeless body. Meanwhile, the girl went over to collect the shotgun, then loaded it with the single bullet that lay a few feet away. She took the safety off, now thankful for all those violent video games she always played for her knowledge of guns.  
"What do you think you're doing with that?" He asked, alarmed as the young teen raised the weapon to the zombie's head.  
"You'll thank me later." She pulled the trigger and quickly handed him the keys.  
"What the fuck did you do that for?!"  
"I'll explain it later, now let's go!" She was now beginning to panic as she heard the moaning of at least a dozen walkers making their way to them. "Come on!"  
"You're insane! He could've been still alive!"  
"I'm not-" She was cut off when the monsters stumbled out of the underbrush, toppling over each other, and slashing at the pair. "Do it!" Lee grabbed the keys from her hand, and attempted to unlock his binds, failing, and dropping them at his feet. "Quit dropping shit!" She cried, then picked them up and unlocked them for him. "Run!" Lee took one final look at the horde before taking off after her.

She ran fast, not even sure of which way to go, only that she needed to find Clementine's house and get herself and Lee to safety. Only, the forest looked so much different than it did during the game. It looked realistic, every leaf, every tiny blade of grass poking out through the leaves looked real. The paths were complete, which meant there was no missing places where the camera angles would not have shown, making the woods bigger and her destination harder to find.

She then remembered Lee's leg, as he limped along far behind her, trying his best to keep up. She blew a large strand of honey-blonde hair out of her face with a puff and she ran back to be beside him. In her state of fright, she had not noticed a tall hill that was just visible through a tangled mesh of branches from where she stood beside the older man. Upon that hill, she saw what she hoped with all her heart was there and smiled with relief and hope that they may actually get through this.  
"This way!" She said, pulling on the man's hand to quickly change direction, and headed toward the house where a certain, special little girl lived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The Walking Dead Game**

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The two threw themselves over the tall, wooden fence into the familiar yard, the place where the story truly began. The young girl landed lightly on the soft grass, but, Lee, however, was not so graceful. He landed with a thud and scrambled quickly away in in complete fright.

After a long moment of silence, he spoke at last, panting, "what the hell were those things?!"

"Walkers, and they're dangerous. Almost impossible to kill." By now, the idea of this strange universe being her new reality was now starting to be etched into her brain, letting all the fear and helplessness that she knew was to come strain her emotions. She spoke softly with a monotone, "destroy the brain. That's the only way."

He stared up at young teen standing in front of him, watching her body language. She looked scared, as if she knew what was happening, but could do nothing about it. Like he was walking straight into a trap hidden in the undergrowth, waiting to snap and end the very life that had mistakenly stepped in it, and she was the bystander, watching in remorse.

"Hey," he called gently to her, "what's your name?"

"Michelle Rymes," she answered, finally looking at him.

"How do you know so much about this? Do you know what's going on?"

"Nobody really knows how it started," she said, purposely avoiding the first question. "and we should get moving. We don't want to wait around for too long."

"Yeah, we need to find some help."

"We could use this," Michelle said, holding up a shovel that stood against the house. Lee led the way up the back patio steps to the glass sliding door that opened to a dining room. He knocked loudly, calling out for help to the people who Michelle knew were already dead, while the teen leaned against the railing, keeping her eyes fixed on the treehouse. She wondered if the little girl was up there, if she had really been surviving for days on her own, or if she already knew they were there.

"I don't think anybody's home," Lee stated, jumping her out of her thoughts. He hesitated for another moment before finally deciding to go in. Michelle took one last glance up at the child's playhouse before following.

"Looks like these people need more help than we do..." He commented quietly when the two had fully stepped inside.

Michelle held her weapon up at ready, worrying that the creature would appear sooner. "Watch out for walkers," she advised.

"It looks like nothing's here, we're safe for now, I think."

"Looks can be deceiving..." She muttered back after he had already walked out of earshot. The house was in the exact same condition that it was in in the game, toppled furniture, blood-soaked floors, and even the repetitive beeping of the blinking answering machine. The only difference was the thick smell of death that clung to the air, for it was something you could not experience during gameplay.

Michelle walked to the kitchen, stepping sideways to avoid the large pool of blood blocking the entrance. She noted the irregular, sloppy, red footprints that trailed off into dining room area, making her heart race in knowing that same monster was somewhere in the house and could make its appearance at any second. She continued further into the kitchen and got the walkie-talkie out of the drawer.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked from the other room, startling her.

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"You can't just go through people's stuff like that!"

_"Oh, _now _he thinks it's wrong," _she thought, wanting desperately to roll her eyes. "I was just looking for anything useful..."

"Still ain't right."

As she left the kitchen, she saw what Lee had been looking at from the minute they has come in, the coloring book, a sign that an innocent child was experiencing this nightmare. Clementine. Lee moved to the living room and pressed the button on the machine and the voice of Clementine's mother rang out. At first, the woman's voice was so light and carefree that she proved to be completely unaware of the horrible fate herself and her husband would soon endure. Michelle knew she would not be able to bare to hear the poor lady in distress, so she decided to look at the tree house once more through the kitchen window, where she saw Clementine's little face peaking out at last. She smiled at the little girl, though she knew the girl could not to see her through the glare on the glass and Michelle's shorter stature.

Suddenly, her tiny voice sounded out from the walkie-talkie, and Michelle tossed it over to Lee to take the conversation with the young child. Although, Michelle was excited to meet her, she was now on edge because she knew a nanosecond after the characters' talk was over, the zombiefied Sandra would appear. She stood close to Lee and held the shovel up in defense, earning yet another confused glance from the history professor. Trying her best to regulate her breathing, she focused on her surroundings, curious to know where exactly the walker had been hiding the entire time they were in the house. As Lee disappeared behind the wall of the kitchen, Michelle stayed put and watched, ready.

"Okay, Michelle stay calm," she said softly to herself, attempting to calm her nerves, "everything will be okay, it's just like in the game. You know what to do, just hit it in the head, and it'll go down easy." She heard a quiet creek, and the door to what looked like the basement began to inch open. Michelle stayed perfectly still, ignoring every fiber of her being screaming for her to run. She was nervous, yet confident that she could do this on her own, after all, she would have to learn sometime.

Her feelings changed the second that door had fully opened for she was finally able to get a closer look at the monster. The blood froze in her veins and all of that built-up confidence faded in an instant. The monster was realistic, as well, but like nothing she had ever imagined, even worse than the incredible make-up done in the TV series she loved to watch. The skin was pealing off of its face, revealing the bloody skull underneath. Its neck had been torn apart with bubbles of fresh, red liquid and flies coming in and out. It seemed like it had no blood left in its undead body, for most of it had poured out from its jugular vein and covered the entire side of the corpse. Slow, raspy breaths came from deep in its throat, splattering droplets of blood from the large wound on the neck, and seeped out from its mouth.

Then, it looked at her. Pools of white stared into her. Soulless and hungry. Michelle found herself frozen where she stood. Unable to move and unable say a word, while Lee was still by the window talking to the girl, completely unaware of the danger she was in. It growled and lunged at her, pinning her down on the hardwood floor. It snapped at her throat, but missed by inches. Breaking herself out of her trance, she was able to keep the creature away by wedging the tip of her shovel into its chest. It grabbed and pulled on the girl's hair while she wheezed and gasped for air, trying with all her might to cry out for help.

She opened her mouth once more in an attempt to scream, but the sound that did come was not from her. She was confused, yet to occupied with the predator to care. She felt her muscles begin to go weak from the lack of oxygen and the inhuman strength atop of her. She felt the world around her begin to grow dark, so calming and comforting, welcoming her into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness. She heard a splatter and an animal cry out in pain. It was the last thing she heard before everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the long wait, guys. I really don't have any excuses other then my being lazy, so, yeah... Again, sorry... Anyway, I'm really enjoying writing this and I'm excited to do more. Also, I never abandon stories, and if I do, there will always be a long, drawn out explanation of why I did. So, no matter how long the wait, there will always be another update on the way. :)**

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The Walking Dead**

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"Is she gonna be okay?"

"She should be. I got her breathing again."

"She's been sleeping for long time..."

Michelle could hear voices crossing and her hearing fading in and out as she slowly came back into consciousness. She stirred and struggled to keep her eyes open, and what she was able to see, came in a blurry, jumbled mess of shapes and colors. For a short while, she thought she was dead, until she heard a familiar, high-pitched voice clear as day.

"Hey, look! I think she's waking up!"

"Michelle?" A deeper voice said, followed by a patting on her cheek. "Come on, Michelle, wake up." Then, everything came back to her and she opened her eyes to a dark, wooden roof. It was not a dream, after all.

"She's awake!" Clementine cried excitedly.

"How're you feeling?" Lee asked, kneeling down beside her.

"Okay, I guess." She took a look around and determined they were in the tree house, but, then, another realization hit her like a ton of bricks. It was dark. She sprang up to a sitting position, only to be gently pushed back down by Lee.

"You probably shouldn't be moving so fast just yet," he said.

"What time is it?" She asked frantically.

Lee held a flashlight up to his watch. "About nine." She remembered Shawn and Chet, the two friends who had saved Lee and Clementine and brought them home to Hershel's farm. She also knew from replaying the game with different outcomes, if you waited until dark, Chet would be dead. She must be set at that time. If it got any later, they may miss Shawn entirely, and she did not want to know the outcome of that.

"We need to leave," she stated, clearly upset.

"Why? What's the hurry? If we stay here tonight, we can find help in the morning," Lee said. Her mind started spinning with irritation and stress.

"You don't understand, we should have left hours ago!"

"A few hours ago, you passed out from an Asthma attack. Now, I don't want to have go through that again, so I suggest you calm down." Suddenly, blood curtailing screaming could be heard from the street below them. The screams she recognized as none other than Chet's. Clementine whimpered and clung to Lee's leg. They were too late.

"We need to leave _now!_" She said, standing up. "If we do, we may have a chance to get rescued." In the distance, they heard gunshots and Shawn's voice screaming for his friend. "See, there are people down there! They can help us! Or, if anything, we can help them." Lee seemed to be trying to make a decision, looking to the teen standing before him, out the window, then back to her once more. When he saw the human silhouettes under a street light trying to push a vehicle, he had made up his mind.

"Okay, but we need to hurry." They climbed down the ladder as swiftly as they could and rushed toward the gate, where they could now fully see Shawn and the police officer trying desperately to clear their path to freedom, but it seemed to be to no avail. "Hey!" Lee shouted to the two other survivors, "do you need any help?"

Shawn was quick to shush him. "Keep your voice down! Do you want those things to find us?"

"We can help you," Michelle volunteered in a much quieter tone.

"Great! We need to get this truck out of the way," he said to Lee, "and you two can be our look-outs." Michelle took one glance over the police car and saw at least five or six of them already coming their way, one of them being the lost friend.

"Guys, we have company!"

"Shit!" The officer shouted, "push harder!" With Lee's added strength, the impaired truck finally began to roll forward.

"They're getting closer..!" Michelle warned. Clementine joined in and pushed against the bumper.

"That's good enough!" the officer shouted, "we can just make it through." Everyone rushed inside car with barely enough time to shut the doors before speeding off, bashing away the front corner of the truck in the process.

"So, who are you people, anyways?" Shawn asked after awhile.

"I'm Lee and this is Michelle and Clementine."

"I'm Shawn and this is Andre."

"It's Officer Mitchell," the cop corrected his friend.

"Is she your daughter?" Shawn asked, referring to Clem.

"No, but she'd been surviving for days on her own. I'm taking care of her until we find her parents."

"What about her?" Andre asked, looking through his mirror at Michelle, "where'd you find her at?"

"Actually, she found me. Saved me from a car wreck."

"Well, you just have your work cut out for you, then, huh? Two kids to watch over. You got any of your own?"

"No,"

"Trust me, it ain't easy," he chuckled. "Got three, myself; two teens and one well on her way. I just pray they're all safe..."

"Well, when we get back to my family's farm, you three can stay the night and we'll figure out what to do in the morning."

"But, Lee, what about my parents?" Clementine inquired.

"We'll find them, remember? Everything'll be okay." This made the little girl smile and relax a little. Michelle, on the other hand, frowned. She knew the truth.

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet, considering everyone except Officer Mitchell, who was driving, and Michelle were asleep, it was quite a long ride from Clementine's neighborhood to Hershel's farm. The dark surroundings and soothing motions of the tires on the smooth roads did not make staying awake any easier.

As much as she would have liked to go to sleep and escape from that hell for a bit, her mind was racing far too much for that. She knew the next day would be the date of Shawn's death, and the more she thought about it, the more it killed_ her. _She stared out the window, thinking, why was she put here in the first place? Was there a reason? Could there be something she was meant to do, and all for the storyline of a _game?_ It just didn't make any sense. Maybe she was in a coma or out cold after some really fucked up skateboard accident. They would be the only ways any of this was possible. It still kept her wondering.

The car pulled onto a bumpy dirt road, waking the other passengers from their sleep. Shawn rubbed his face and said in a voice that faltered as if he had been crying, "we're almost there." Although, he did a good job of hiding it. When they reached the house, the were greeted almost immediately by Hershel Greene, the wise, old farmer who was also Shawn's father. To Michelle, it was like meeting a movie star. She loved the series so much, and meeting someone who was in the original comics and was so involved in the TV show, was a great pleasure. She had to try hard to hide her excitement.

"You're late," his father said, pulling his son in for a hug, "but I'm glad you're all right."

"I'm not completely 'all right,'" Shawn said, "Chet's... dead..."

"No. What happened?"

"He was eaten by those monsters we've been hearing about on the news. It was so horrible..."

"I'm so sorry, Shawn. I know you two were close... I see you've brought home a few guests."

"We never would've gotten out alive if it wasn't for your boy here," Lee said.

"I'm glad he could be of some use to someone. Are these your girls, then?"

"No, Dad, they're just some kids he found on their own."

"Huh. Girls, do you two know this man?"

"Yes," Clementine said, hesitantly. Michelle nodded.

"Okay, then," although, he still looked a bit skeptical. "Looks like you hurt your leg pretty bad, there."

"Yeah, it's not doing so good," Lee said, miserably.

"I can fix you up. Sit up on the porch, and I'll get right on it. Shawn, go inside and check on your sister, and bring me the first aid."

Shawn came out a minute later and handed his father the medical supplies. "Dad, I was thinking tomorrow we could reinforce the fence around the farm, I don't want any of those things that got Chet getting in here."

"After what happened, I think that would be a good idea. Lee winced as Hershel began to wrap the first bandage around his wound.

Michelle payed little attention to the two men. This was her first time alone with Clementine, her chance to finally meet her, but how do you get to know someone you have already met? She did not want to scare the child by thinking she knew too much. They had to start somewhere. "I'm, uh, sorry we had to leave your house in such a hurry." A bit akward, but at least she broke the ice.

"It's okay," the little girl said in a quiet voice, "I'm just worried that my parents will come home and I won't be there." She felt so bad for the kid, she did not want to lie to her by saying it would be okay, because it wouldn't, it never would be again. So, what was she supposed to say?

"You don't have to worry about that." God, that sounded bad. "Just... Have hope." It was something her own mother had always said to her and it made even herself feel better about the situation.

"What your name, sweetheart?" Hershel asked the little girl.

"Clementine..." She answered nervously.

"And yours?"

"Michelle Rymes."

"Can't imagine what you kids have seen."

"More than you'd know," she whispered softly.

"There, all done. Now, there's no room in the house for guests, but there is in the barn. We got another family of three sleeping in there, as well. You're welcome to stay, but you need to leave in the morning. I don't run a bed-and-breakfast."

Michelle layed down on her sleeping bag and listened to the noises of the barnyard. Crickets chriping, owls hooting, the sounds of horses somewhere in the distance, and she could even hear the quiet rustling of Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck up in the loft. She smiled, knowing she would meet them the next morning.

"I miss my mom and dad..." Michelle closed her eyes, not wanting to listen to the poor child. Truth was, as disfuntional as they were, she missed her own family. She felt a tear escape from her closed eyes and run down her flushed cheek. Did they even realize she was gone? As if time had stopped and the only reality resided here? Maybe they _were _here. Maybe they were back home in this world trying to survive the apocalypse, themselves. She heard a gasp and opened her eyes to find it was Lee jolting from his nightmare. She let one last tear fall down her face and wondered if would ever awake from hers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Weelp, it's finally up. It would've been posted sooner, but with the Holidays, it was kinda hard to find time. This is also the longest chapter I've ever written for any of my stories and I think it turned out pretty well. Of course, your opinion counts, as well. So, leave a review and tell me what you think. **

**A special thanks to** **Alias the Jester for the constructive criticism. It always helps. :)**

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The Walking Dead Game**

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"Hey, wake up," a distinguished southern accent called cheerfully, rousing Michelle from her sleep.

"Ugh, I'm itchy!" Clementine complained. Michelle was not feeling her best, either, considering she woke up half-way off her sleeping bag in a pile of prickly dried grass. Her long, honey-colored hair was all ruffled with straws sticking out at every angle, her eyes were red and puffy from crying the night before, dirt splotched her face, and she felt like she had hay in a few very uncomfortable places. She let out an irritated groan and sat up.

"Well, good morning to you, too, sleeping beauty," he joked. Even when Kenny was making fun of her, Michelle still had to try hard to resist the urge to run up and hug the man. Kenny had never been Michelle's most favorite character, but he was up there. The reasons being his flaws that he possessed in his trying to be a leader. It was well known that Kenny cared about his family very much, but that was just it. He would sometimes put others' lives behind his family's and that had proved on many different parts of the story to be a portion of the group's downfall. Lilly, for example, he had pushed and prodded her so much about leaving to get Katjaa and Duck somewhere safe, that it helped build the stress in her that caused her to lose her mind and pull the trigger. However, that could also be an example of his undying stubbornness. Another thing she discovered while playing was when she tried to help save Larry in the meat locker, Kenny turned on Lee, saying that he had betrayed him and that he always agreed with his beloved Lilly, but that was just not the case.

Even after all that, Michelle never hated the man. There was a saying that her grandmother always told her, most often when they talked about her father; she would tell her that everyone had their own special type of good in them, no matter if it showed often, or not, or how brittle they seemed, it was always there. Everyone meant everyone and Kenny's was loyalty. She respected him for that.

Almost immediately after the introductions were made, a loud, obnoxiousness whine filled the air, it also filled Michelle's heart with joy upon hearing it again.

"C'mon, Dad! Shawn said we're gonna build a fence!" Duck cried excitedly, and ran back out the door toward his mother. The four followed him out of the barn and into the yard where Katjaa was sitting in the same way she had been during the game, looking to be calming her hyperactive son down.

"Hey, honey this is Lee," Kenny announced. Katjaa; it had taken Michelle a long while to get over her, as well as her son's, death. It was truly tragic, but she understood why she did it. No one deserved to see the to see the death of their child, especially someone as kind and forgiving as Katjaa. Even though Michelle had never quite had the experience herself, she knew how it affected a greaving parent. Years and years of sorrow, years he would never get back.

"And this is Michelle," Lee gestured to her with a smile, and she gave a polite little wave at Katjaa, who insisted on a handshake instead.

"Nice to meet you, Michelle."

After that, everything seemed to happen in the same way the game had been told. Lee went off to help Shawn, Katjaa took watch over Clementine, and Kenny worked on his truck, which just left Michelle, who had nothing to do. It seemed at this point that everybody had a role in which took place in the storyline. All except Michelle, of course. She was an extra who was not supposed to be there. That got her thinking again, if she truly was put here for a reason, then maybe she was meant to be there, maybe she did have a role, a place in which she held her own, but the question was, what was it?

She took a seat on the soft grass and thought hard. If there was something she was supposed to do, she had to figure out what it was, and do it right, because she lived by a policy that her dad had taught her, and it was to never do anything half-ass. She would be damned if this special prophetic mission that had been bestowed on her by some great video game god should be failed. With all seriousness.

She plucked pieces of grass from the ground as she thought, tearing each soft, green strand in into tiny fragments, then starting over in a rhythmic fashion. She was so absorbed in her thinking process that she did not hear the tiny footfalls, muffled by the dusty path, come up behind her.

"You're hurting the grass," an innocent voice quietly stated. The older girl turned to see Clementine, who had left her place beside Katjaa to visit her. She stood with her hands behind her her back and swayed slightly in a nervous manner.

Instead of continuing to murder the sacred life of the vegetation, she smiled at the young child. Not only did Michelle want to make friends with Clementine, she also wanted to earn the little girl's trust. She wanted to be yet another person she could rely on to keep her out of harm's way and to just be there for her. Michelle felt that to be one of the possible things she was meant to do there. "You're right," she said, dropping the remaining pieces, "I shouldn't do that, should I?" Clementine gave a small smile back and shook her head, appearing to feel just a tad bit more comfortable. "What are you doing over here? I thought you were supposed to stay with Katjaa?"

"She said I could come over and talk to you if I wanted to... Is that okay?"

Michelle looked at her warmly and patted the ground next to her, in a gesture for her to sit. "Of course it is." Clementine's smile widened and she sat down, crisscross with her little hands rested in her lap like she was taught in elementary school. A gleam appeared in the teen's eyes when she asked her if she liked to draw, already knowing the answer.

Clem's expression brightened to whole new level. "I love to draw!" Michelle turned her body so that she was now facing the dirt trail that led to various places throughout the farm and picked up a short stick that lay inches away among the lawn. Putting the tip of the stick to the soft dirt, she dragged it downward in a curved motion to form a bended line. Next, she drew another one parallel to the other, arched in the opposite direction. She then preceded to draw branches with tips engulfed by a cloud-like shape that was supposed to act as the leaves at the top and grass poking out at the bottom around the trunk. Tiny dirt chunks fell back into the lines filling them back up, creating jagged and missing parts, to her annoyance. She tried her best to fix it, but ended up making it worse, until finally deciding she was done. Clementine looked at it thoughtfully. "It's pretty." Though, Michelle could tell she was lying. "My turn!" She said, and Michelle handed her the twig.

Clementine drew a line that was straight next to the teen's poorly-drawn tree and connected three more to it, shaping a square, and drew a triangle at the top. "It's going to be a house," she said happily and began to draw the door and windows with a tiny flower in front for good taste. "Do you like it?"

Michelle looked at the eight-year-old's drawing, then her own, and frowned. "It's great."

Suddenly, a scream and the sound of a motor roared across the barnyard, causing the two girls to jump. Then, yelling from Hershel, "go! I'll get my gun!"

Michelle's eyes widened in horror when she realized what was happening. "No! No, I thought I had more time!" She ran toward the others with a speed she never knew she had and skidded to a stop beside Lee, who was already pulling on Shawn's arms. Clementine followed, but stopped in her tracks when she saw the terrible scene unfolding before her, and clung to Katjaa.

"Kenny, help!" Lee yelled over the motor at his friend, looking terror-struck at the boy in peril for a moment before running off with his son safe in his arms. A realization overtook Michelle, as she continued to yank Shawn to freedom. This could be her mission, to save the ones that were lost and change the story. This was her purpose, her role. To set things right. She knew what she had to do.

Scowling at Kenny's running figure, she moved to the seat of the tractor and began to pull on the shift, finding it difficult with the flailing arms of zombies attempting to grab her and turn her into their next meal. One almost got her, reaching out its rotted, blood-soaked hand, but only clasping onto the pocket of her jacket, tearing it away.

A loud crack ripped above the walkers' hungry groans and the makeshift fence crumbled, letting them all in. "No!" She cried. She had failed. Lee let go of the man's hands, and fell back when they tried lunging at him. Hershel burst out of his front door with his shotgun and saw his son being eaten alive. A look of rage overcame his sorrow and he shot each one in the head, then knelt by his son, who was already gone.

It was entirely silent except for the sound of the mourning father's sobs. "You," he said, finally, still on his knees beside Shawn's body, "you did this..." Although, he did not look up, Michelle knew who he was talking to. "Get out, and never come back." He let out another sound of grief, and did not say any more.

"You have that ride to Macon, if you want it," Kenny said dryly. The quiesce was preserved during the short walk to the truck, and the long ride out of the country. Yet, it seemed even longer to Michelle, feeling the worst of all out of everyone else about the event. She knew it would happen, knew that a human being was going to die, and she had not done shit. Why had it taken her so long to solve the puzzle? Why had she not been quicker?

By late afternoon, Kenny's old pickup finally came to a halt downtown next to the drugstore, where their future group was hiding out. "They're probably watching us right now," Michelle thought. As bad as she the situation was, she could not help but feel just a tiny bit starstruck by her location. Again, it was like being on the set of your favorite TV show for the first time, but when she heard the soft moans of the many walkers hidden all around her, she was reminded that this was not a good place to be and she needed to stay on her guard.

"Maybe someone around here has some gasoline they can lend us," Kenny suggested.

"I don't know, man," Lee said, eyes downcast, "this place looks pretty deserted to me."

Michelle was unable to stop Duck from pointing out the seeming normal human being crouched underneath a car to his father, nor said father from calling out to it. The undead creature lifted its head and snarled at them, alerting all the others nearby of their presence. Soon, they were surrounded, and no one other than Michelle had any idea how to take them down, no one even had a weapon. "Come on, guys, get out here and help us!" The monsters were drawing closer, and it was not until Duck had been attacked, that a gunshot rang out. The marksman was Carley with her trusty pistol and dead-eye accuracy, shooting every zombie close to them right between the eyes.

"Over here!" Glenn yelled to them, "come on!" With their path now cleared, the group scrambled for the door. Carley was last, taking one final shot before joining the rest in safety.

The very second everybody was through the doorway, the arguments started. "What the hell were you thinking?! You can't just be bringing new people here! It's dangerous!" Lilly scolded directly at Carley.

"We're not dangerous," defended Lee, "and we have kids with us!"

"I see one little girl," Larry growled. Michelle watched the others fight, wondering if there was any way she could help. One thing she was sure of was Larry would jump to conclusions and say innocent little Duck was bitten when he was not, not yet, anyway. Maybe there was some way she could keep things in line, to make sure nothing got too out of control, which she knew would be difficult with so many headstrong people in one room.

"Lee," Clementine squeaked, "I-I have to pee..."

"In a minute." That was what she would do! She would make sure Clementine was not attacked by the walker hiding in the bathroom! She just had to keep an eye on her to ensure she did not go in.

"Where the hell is your humanity? They would've died out there!"

"So, what?" Clementine eventually got tired of waiting and decided to take matters into her own hands, which meant sneaking away from Lee to use the bathroom on her own, and Michelle was the only one who noticed. She came up to her just before she turned the doorknob, and grabbed the child gently by the arm, stopping her from going any further. "Don't go in there," she told her.

"But, I have to-"

"Don't go anywhere unless someone is with you, and unless you know it's safe. There could be a walker in there." Clementine looked as if she did something wrong and those sad eyes just broke her heart. She sighed and knelt down to her level. "Just be a little more careful, okay?" She nodded. To make sure the little girl did not try it again, Michelle decided to show her that the door was locked, so she could not have went in in the first place, but instead of the knob catching, it turned fully in her hand. Michelle freaked, gripped Clementine's hand and pulled her to safety. They hid behind the counter, not a rustle was heard from inside the restroom.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked hurrying toward the two children for whom he was responsible. Michelle, still panting, looked back at bathroom with the door wide open, but nothing inside.

"Did you see something?" Lilly asked.

"No, n-nothing... I just... Just thought a walker was... Was..." Michelle was once again struggling to breathe, wheezing and sputtering, but still trying her best to explain herself.

"Use your inhaler," Lee suggested. By now the entire group was watching her, staring at her with questionable eyes. She reached down the side of her hoodie to find her inhaler missing, not only that, her entire pocket was torn off, leaving nothing but string and ripped pieces of fabric in its place.

"I... I don't have it."

"You lost it?" Kenny asked. She nodded. "Well, I guess we're lucky to be in a drugstore, then."

"Not quite," Lilly spoke up. "My dad has a heart condition and we've been trying to get in the pharmacy for days, but it's locked up tight."

"So, there's no way in?" Katjaa asked.

"Maybe. All we need are the keys."

"That's good," Lee said. "We'll get in there somehow." He knelt down next to Michelle, who was still sitting against the counter. "Think you can hang on 'til then?" She nodded dully, but believing she could. She sat very still, taking in slow, deep breaths, and exhaling as much as she could, remembering her doctor's instructions from many years before on what to do in case of an emergency. It seemed to help for the time being, but she knew that she would need it soon. She hoped with all her heart that it would pass.

"I suggest everyone get comfortable for now, we could be here awhile. And, you," Kenny said, referring to Michelle, "you take it easy."

"I'm starting to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution," Glenn spoke, joining the conversation at last. "I'm going down to the motel a couple miles down the road to get enough gas so we can all get out of downtown Macon fast."

Once Glenn had left for the motor inn with the walkie-talkie, everyone seemed to settle down and go about their business; Lilly stood conversing with her father, but it was not hard to notice the suspicious glances the large man repeatedly gave Lee, Doug took his place watching the street outside the store, Carley stood in front of the counter trying to fix the radio, Clementine looked to be observing everything with interest whilst holding her other walkie-talkie, and Lee, who was doing many things.

Michelle watched as he walked up to Clementine and asked her if she needed anything, being hungry, he gave her one of the few energy bars he had found laying around. Then, to Michelle's surprise, he came to her next with one. He also asked how she was feeling and she answered honestly, saying she actually did feel a little better, which was a relief to both of them. Unfortunately, that still was not the end of their problem, she still needed a new one, and Larry needed his pills just in case he took a spill in the future.

He then walked up to Carley, who was just on the other side of the counter from Michelle. First, he complimented her on incredible skill with guns, then handing her one of the bars, just as Michelle had done. She could remember that because, when she had played, she had tried hard to get her to like him. What could she say? She may of been be a tomboy, but she was still a sucker for an adorable love story.

"What're you looking it?" He asked her.

"A radio; I can't get it to work, though..." Michelle carried on eavesdropping on the two until Lee went off in search for the batteries Carley needed. Kenny and his family were last to receive food, leaving out Lilly, Larry, and Doug, who were probably too busy to eat, anyway. Finally catching her breath, Michelle lifted herself up from the cold floor and sat on a tall stool that was nearby. "At least it was clean," She thought to herself. Breathing in any dust would have made her predicament more critical than normal. Fortunately, it was just a small attack.

"Hey," Carley must have noticed Michelle had moved, "are you sure you're okay, now? It looked pretty bad."

Michelle waved her off, "nah, I've had worse. I'll be fine, I just can't be moving around too much until it fully passes."

The reporter nodded, but her expression quickly changed from concern to suspicion, and she lowered her voice. "That man you're with, where did you find him?"

Michelle understood what she was getting at almost at once, and answered truthfully with the knowledge that she was not a threat. "I saved him from the scene of a car crash. A police car."

Carley noted how calm the teen looked as she answered, and the emphasis of her last sentence sounded as if she meant something by it. "So, you know?"

She took a second to breathe before answering, not because of her Asthma, but of the horrible memories that would soon come to life, "I know everything," her tone hinted a pitiful edge that time, but she still managed to keep eye contact, which pushed Carley's dubiosity of the girl even more and her strange look for her lingered still, when Lee came back with the batteries. Just like the game, she failed to put them in right, calling Lee back for the second time to 'fix' the machine and a depressing signal from the news station broke through. The distressed voice of a man was the clearest as he gave instructions and wished people the best with desperate screaming in the background. Subsequent to trying to comfort the fretting reporter, and seeing that he had talked to everyone else except for an angry Larry, Lee went into the back room with Clementine at his heels.

Looking up from her radio after Lee had shut the door, Carley gave Michelle another look, then made her way to the employees only door and snuck in quietly behind him. Only to emerge soon after with reddened cheeks and a smile on her face.

It was quiet again without Lee rustling about his parents' store, a serenity Michelle was not used to, and, to her, it was deafening. No more than a few seconds had passed after Lee came back in with Clementine had a high-pitched, mechanical screech sounded from the child's toy and Glenn's voice followed suit.

While Glenn explained his situation, Michelle wondered if she should volunteer to join Lee and Carley's rescue party, since her name had not been mentioned. Then again, she did not know if she could stomach seeing that poor woman blow her own brains out. It was certainly a questionable decision, something that she, personally, would need time to think over and prepare for if she should tag along. As always, it was time she did not have. For the two were ready to leave. It would be a great risk without her life support, even more so with the happenings she knew were to come with that job. Not having much choice, she set on staying put, not that she was complaining. She would even be the one to look after Clem while her caretaker was away. Speaking of said child, she should probably check up on her.

She had not moved from her place on some boxes. "Hey, Clem."

"..Do you think Lee will be okay?"

She knew he would be physically, but seeing a person commit suicide only a mere six-feet away could not really specify as 'okay.' "Lee's a pretty tough guy, and I'm sure he'll do anything to make it back to you." This seemed to comfort her and she began to swing her legs with a childish demeanor.

From the corner, Michelle heard the familiar squeak of that bathroom door swing open, and looked to see Doug going in. Once again, no blood-thirsty walker. Had the group said that they had been staying here for a few days? She was sure Lilly had mentioned it during the game. She had probably said it during the argument, when Michelle was not paying attention. If so, then breaking down the restroom door would be urgent in just a few hours of arriving, a detail the game creators must have missed. This was a whole new level of her earlier term 'realistic.' It had changed the entire sequence of events and had even taken some out.

She returned to her chair, feeling more exhausted than she wanted to be, bearing the sense that she needed to be keeping an eye on things. She barely slept a wink the night before, a real change to her, and it was starting to take effect. A short nap would not hurt, would it? Besides, she would wake herself up when Lee returned. Perhaps he could find her something to do, and, hopefully, it would help keep her mind off the farm; Shawn's harrowing screams still rang in her ears.

She felt like she had only closed her eyes for a second when the security alarm screamed out defence as zombies pushed against the windows and doors of the drugstore with numbered force. Michelle nearly sprang out of her seat, being started awake from her slumber. For a split second, she thought it was her alarm clock waking her up for school. Thinking back, it seemed like a luxury compared to this mess. People scrambled about, loading their guns, barricading, and getting others out. Lee, Carley, and Doug were the only ones in sight, now. That is, until little Clementine came back with Mr. Everett's cane. Carley held off the monsters with her gun, Doug struggled to keep the window in tact, while Lee ushered Clem to a safe place in the middle of the room. Michelle knew the choice would have been to save either Carley or Doug, but with her help, she and Lee could do both. Her plan was for her to be the one to give Carley more ammo, while Lee, being the stronger of the two, pull Doug from the creatures' clutches.

Michelle recognized the characters' positions, and felt that it was almost time. She readied herself for the right moment, but when it came, she was pulled back by a large hand, and dragged to the door. "No!" she screamed, "let go of me!"

"Shut your mouth! You'll attract them to us!" Larry bellowed.

"I need to save them!" Except, they were already through the door, the last thing she heard from the room was the wailing of the two survivors in exigent urgency for rescue. Now, if she were to get away, she would not get to them in time even if she ran, but it did not stop her from fighting back.

"Shut up, and get in the car!" He yelled. Throwing open the car door, he dropped her inside, then slammed it shut before she had a chance to escape.

"Dammit!" Michelle smacked the window out of pure hatred for the man who had forbid her from doing her job, a human life being the consequence. Larry disappeared back inside the pharmacy with Kenny not too far behind, and she waited for what seemed like hours for them to return. When they did, just as she expected, only five exited instead of six. Doug was the only one to not make it out. Hot tears flowed down her flushed face like a stream. She had failed, again.


	5. Chapter 5

**So, yeah; a lot of drama with this one... Just so there's no confusion, I changed my account name.**

**NOTE: I should've probably said this before, but the progress of the chapters I'm working on are posted on my profile.**

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The Walking Dead**

* * *

Three months had passed since a young sixteen year old girl named Michelle Rymes was forced into the Walking Dead universe. More specifically, the game. Instead of the story skipping time, the teen endured all of it, including the numerous difficulties that came along with surviving and she now understood all the stress and exhaustion the characters had went through. As before, the group moved into the Traveler Motel for shelter, but it did not offer the best protection, they had to do that themselves. The first task in securing their fortress was to block off all the entrances to the motel, which did not sound too challenging at first, but it turned out to be a long and tedious job that still was not completely finished.

The late summer sun scorched the motor inn and reflected off the blacktop, giving off even more heat, with just a few things providing shade. Most of the streams in the woods out back had dried up, making water not easy to find and much of the group would have gone thirsty if it had not been for the rain. The worst thing about the temperature was the smell. There was nothing more unbearable than the smell of rotting flesh in the boiling sunlight. None of that, however, could add up to the lack of food. It was so short that some people had to go without any, occasionally the kids if nothing could be done about it.

Michelle stood working on the fence with Larry, being the only two to volunteer. Lilly was on watch, Katjaa kept an eye on Duck, who was drawing, Clementine played with a soccer ball, Lee, Mark, and Kenny were out hunting, while Carley rested on the couch in an attempt to make up for her loss of sleep.

The days dragged on and on for Michelle and she had almost forgotten what her home looked like. Only the picture of her little brother's face stayed clear in her memory. She missed him most of all. Many days had gone by when she wished that something familiar would happen, anything where she could at least predict the outcome. The past months seemed like they were going without reason. Every supply run, every watch, every walker she saw get shot down felt pointless, even though they were all mandatory. It just did not feel like she was any closer to getting home.

"Dammit, don't hit the board so hard," Larry yelled, "you're making the whole fence shake!" Michelle inwardly rolled her eyes, used to the old man's ranting.

"_Maybe if Doug were here, _he _could do it better," _she thought, but did not dare to say it out loud. She never fully forgave him for what happened back at the drugstore all that time ago. Although, she knew deep in her heart that he was only trying to save her. Sure, he was an asshole most of the time, but she saw little pieces of his good side here and there. Like when he was with his daughter Lilly, if anyone even looked at her the wrong way, he would be right beside her on the spot, shotgun included. Secretly, Michelle was jealous of the great relationship Lilly had with her father. She would have given anything for him to come out of his room or take an extra day off work once and awhile. She sighed. It did not matter now, anyway.

Suddenly, raising above the everyday noise of their camp, came Lilly's warning whistle, a signal every member of the group was taught to make when something was not right. Everyone got out of sight and readied whatever weapons they had at hand for defence. Not another sound was made by the survivors as they waited for the threat to make its appearance.

Rather it being a walker, or an invader with a gun, it was Lee who bursted through the underbrush with the rest of the hunting party close behind him. "Get the gates open, we've got wounded!" He shouted. It was a phrase that sparked Michelle's memory at last, but that was not always a good thing. Everybody made a ruckus, throwing questions at Lee especially, carrying an injured, one-legged stranger on his back. Everybody excluding Michelle, who was struck silent when she saw the terrified face of someone she knew from long ago amongst them. Ben, the accident prone kid and the main cause of their collapse. Oh, no, she had not forgotten him over the time she had been here. No, she had been waiting and fearing of his arrival, when everything would go to shit. In fact, it was one of the countless things that kept her up late at night in the darkness of her motel room. Every living creature now feared the dark.

"Honey, can you fix him?"

"Jesus, Ken! I-I don't know!"

It took Lilly's scream to quiet them all down, "what the hell were you thinking?! You _can't _be bringing new people here!"

"He would've died if we left them!"

Then, something far more sinister struck through her like lightning and chilled her straight to the core. If Ben was there, the St. John brothers would not be far behind, and what followed that would be miles beyond anything any of them were prepared for.

"Fine, you guys fight it out," Mark said, defeated, "welcome to the family, kid." Michelle did not want to listen to the rest of the argument, either, for she had far more important problems to deal with than another one of their ridiculous fights. She had to figure out what she was going to do to stop this. She had failed the last two tries and they were moments that were forever burned into her brain, seeing their faces every time she closed her eyes. She _had _to get this one right, that sick place would scar her, not to mention the _kids_, for the rest of her life. If she were to prevent this, it might save them all from disaster. If they never met and destroyed the dairy, then the bandits would never of had to make a deal with Ben, thus avoiding three deaths and losing the place that now served as their home.

She sat down in one of the three lawn chairs positioned in a circle next to Ben, the two children, and Carley and tried not to make it obvious that she was having a crisis. What could she do? They would never believe her if she told them, she knew that for a fact, and even if they did, how would she explain herself? She had been with them since the very first day, there would be no possible lie she could come up with to convince them that the entire St. John family were cannibals. She certainly could not say she was an 'all-knowing being from another universe,' they would all think she was crazy. Maybe she was. She had to do _something._ This was her one and only chance to save everyone, including herself. She could die, too if she did not stop it.

Lee came over and gave each Duck, Clementine, Carley, and Michelle something to eat. As starving as she was, Michelle was not sure if she would be able to keep it down. Jerky had been one of her favorite snacks back in the day, but any kind of meat seemed distasteful at the moment, considering that was all one of their friends would be in just a few hours.

"Ken, Lee!" Katjaa shouted from the truck, "come over here, please."

The whole group gathered around the former veterinarian and her patient.

"He didn't make it, did he?" Kenny asked as he approached his wife.

"He lost too much blood."

"Get away from him!" Michelle warned, "He'll turn!" Everyone gasped and took a step back.

"Was he bitten?" Lee asked.

"No, but he's dead! Destroy the brain, or he _will _come back!"

"He looks fine to me-" A gurgled growl broke Kenny off and the dead band teacher sprang up from the truck, reaching for the nearest survivors. Luckily, they were all out of reach.

"See?! Shoot it!" A splat, then dark, rotted blood spilled onto the parking lot as Larry dropped the blade of Lee's ax down on the creature's head, creating a large cut that sank deep into its cranium and killing it for the final time.

"How did you know to do that?" Lee asked, directing all curious eyes on her. He must have forgotten what she told him when they first met, but maybe that was a good thing. With all the information she had given him, it might of seemed like she was a bit too equipped for the apocalypse before anyone even knew what was going on. Not that her particular situation would come to mind when it came to weird behavior. Nevertheless, she had to be careful of what she said.

Michelle fumbled through her words to give a good answer that would not seem suspicious, "I, uh-"

"Back off!"

For a brief moment, she was relieved that she was no longer on the spot, but, then the familiar alarm bell rang in her ears as she recognized the two figures approaching the camp and any trace of solace was now replaced with dread.

"Whoa, lady, relax!" Andy called over, holding his hands above his head to try to ease Carley's finger away from the trigger. "Me and my brother, we just need some gasoline for our-"

"I said, back off!"

This was bad, this was so bad! They were here, and she had not even come up with anything. Her breathing increased as hysteria made its presence apparent once again. Sweat dripped down her burning face and splashed on the hot concrete beneath her, as she grasped her hair tightly, the way she always did when in distress.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ben asked when he noticed her behavior. Too preoccupied with the immense stress that shook her whole body, she had not heard him.

"So, do we got a deal?" She heard that one .

"No!" She screamed to no one in particular, startling everyone, mostly Ben, who was standing the closest.

"Man, what's your problem?!"

"Them," she said, gulping, "_they _are my problem!" Lee rushed over and pulled her rescue inhaler out of her pocket for her, forcing her to take two large breaths.

"Hey, uh, everyone all right over there?" Andy yelled.

"Michelle, what's wrong?" she felt a hand on her shoulder, but she did not even try to figure out whom it belonged to. Looking up at the men once more, she did not see the two harmless, friendly people they had proclaimed themselves to be in the beginning. She only saw the blood-stained faces of the monsters they truly were when they chopped up innocent human lives for their dinner, sending her into another spiral.

"My God, Michelle, calm down!" Lilly said, grabbing her arms, "what the hell is wrong with you?"

Taking in a large breath, she tried her best to manage a warning, "they're...evil...!" But, her thoughts were not functioning as properly as she desperately needed them to be.

"What?"

She breathed slower, hoping to calm herself down, "they want to... kill us!"

"How do you know?" Lee asked, crouching down next to her, Carley, and Lilly.

"I've seen it..." At this point, she did not care if she sounded insane, all she wanted was to keep these people safe and she now realized after being around them all this time, she would do anything in her power to make that happen.

"How? You've been with me the entire time."

"Come on, guys. Ignore her!" Larry interrupted, "she's just having another one of her episodes."

"Dad, this is serious. If she knows something about these people, we need to hear it." This shut him up and instead of grunting and storming off like he usually did, he stayed and listened intently to what the teenager had to say.

"I've seen more then any of you could ever in your worst nightmare. I _know _what will happen and I've _seen _what they'll do."

A flashback from the drugstore flickered in Carley's memory and she removed her hand from the young lady's shoulder. _"I know everything."_

"But, they're offering us food..." Mark insisted, erecting a sick chuckle from her.

"_We're _the food." Anger shown in Lee's eyes as he sprang up from his spot on the ground and aimed his pistol directly at the brothers' foreheads.

"Stay right where you are! Don't move a damn muscle!"

"Come on, Lee," Larry reasoned, "even _you _of all peoplecan't possibly believe this ridiculous story! I knew she was a crazy right from the start! All the way back to that incident at the pharmacy with her imaginary walker."

"She knew there was one in there before we even showed up," Lee argued, not taking his eyes nor gun off the intruders. "Your daughter told me so. She knew it then, and she knows it now. Somehow, she's seen this all before and we're gonna get to the bottom of it, but not right now. Right now, we have to deal with this."

Michelle watched the man with pride. She actually did it, she had gotten him to believe her, and now she had one less thing to worry about.

Larry's accusations kept coming, "you two are _both_ lunatics. Makes sense, too; a mental kid and a murderer." A silence immediately fell over the group as they all stared at both Larry and Lee with confusion and raised the eyebrows of Carley and Michelle.

"Lee," Kenny said, "what the hell's he talking about?"

Lee, clearly furious, tried to channel himself and keep his attention focused on the two frightened and very puzzled men. "Not the time, Larry," he growled through gritted teeth.

"What's the matter? Can't escape what you've done?"

Michelle could see the situation was getting out of control, and if she she did not do something fast, it would get a whole lot worse. Yet, if she said anything, it would just egg him on even further. "Lilly," she whispered harshly, "control your father! He needs to stop _now!"_

The woman glared at her, obviously not liking being told what to do by a child, but obliged anyway, seeing where this was going, as well. "Dad, calm down, this isn't helping."

"These people offered us food, Lilly. _Food. _We don't know them, and there's no way in hell this little bitch could, either. I'll be damned if I miss this one chance for a meal."

"But, you need to calm down; we can deal with this."

"I am calm. I just fucking want to eat!"

"Well, maybe we could just go check it out?" Mark suggested, "and if anything seems weird, we can just come back."

"Did you not hear me?" Michelle said, "they will _kill us _if we go with them! They're _cannibals!"_

"Now, wait a minute," Kenny said, "you say you've seen it? When?"

"...Before."

"Before what? The apocalypse?"

"No, I... I don't know..."

"_Doesn't know," _Larry sneered.

"Michelle," Kenny said calmly, ignoring the older man's comment, "we're gonna need a little more info. than that if we're gonna figure this out ."

"_Here it comes," _she thought. The truth needed to come out sometime, but she was going to have to be smart about this if she wanted to do it right, she had come this far. "I can tell you anything." The others waited patiently for her to continue. Swallowing her fear, she did, "their names are Andy and Danny St. John, they live with their mother Brenda on a large dairy farm with just one cow; Maybelle, and she's pregnant, but they think she's sick. They needed a vet to determine that," she said, glancing at Katjaa. The group still looked a bit skeptical, so she went further into detail. "When we first got there, the place gave off a peaceful vibe, and the owners were so nice, so eager for us to stay. They even gave us fresh biscuits. And we did only send a few people on the first trip; Lee, Carley, Ben, and Mark. It felt like we had finally found someplace safe, but we were wrong.

On the way there, we ran into some bandits; they were fighting over some sort of deal, I think, and one shot the other multiple times. The St. Johns have a deal with them, too. Food for protection, but the food they give them is what's left of the people they killed. They lure starving survivors in with the offer of food, in our case, a home-cooked dinner, in exchange for gas for their generators charging the electric fence."

"That _was _detailed," Lee said with a hint of the anger still in his tone as he flashed a glare at Larry.

"So," Ben spoke up nervously, "...which one of us did they... Kill?"

She stayed quiet for a moment, then casted somber eyes at Mark. "They told you and Lee to patrol the electric fence around the farm. A walker had knocked over one of the posts, and when the family saw you two on the outside, they turned the fence back on. You got shot in the shoulder with an arrow by some bandits. Brenda _said_ she was going to help you, but..."

Mark looked horrified, but held held her gaze for a moment longer before speaking, "I think we should believe her." As the words left the former pilot's mouth, Michelle felt months of pressure and worry ease off her nerves instantaneously. The rest of the crew began nodding in agreement, all except Larry, along with Lilly, who did not nod, but had the same fearful expression as the rest. Perhaps she just did not want to feel tricked or look like a fool in front of her dad, either way, they were all going to be okay. Even without the two, the majority voted not to go, so it was settled.

"No deal!" Lee yelled out to the farmers with their hands still in the air.

The brothers appeared to be worried, whispering quickly back and forth between themselves. "A-are you sure? I mean, we really do need the gas..."

Lee turned to Michelle for confirmation, and she shook her head hurriedly. "We're sure. Now, get out of here before I fire this thing." Stunned, the trespassers heeded his demand and reluctantly left from sight, returning the spotlight back on Michelle.

"_Great, question time."_

"Look," Lee said, "I don't doubt that you're telling the truth, but how do you know all this? Did you dream it? Like deja vu, or something like that?"

Her heart rate increased as she was yet again left without a logical answer that they would buy, "uh, it's... _Very _hard to explain, and... you wouldn't believe it if I had an army of people back me up."

But, Lee's serious expression did not falter, "I'm listening."

"_Ah, fuck, now what? I should've figured this out earlier..." _"I just... know, okay? If fact, maybe it was a dream. Yeah, I, uh, I do that a lot..." Judging by the searching guise he gave her, she could tell he knew she was lying. There would be a time when she told them all the whole truth, but this simply was not it. Confiding her story to them could possibly be the hardest thing she would ever do and with so many people wound up at the moment, it just would not be an intelligent move.

"Oh, for _fuck's_ sake," Larry griped, " we just gave up a meal for _this? _You all are fucking _stupid!" _This time he did storm off to his room and slammed the door shut behind him. No one even looked to see if Lilly had followed, they already knew she had.

Seeing the girl was not going to say anymore, Lee sighed. "Alright, when you're ready to tell me, I'll be here. I hope you realize that this _is _important and the longer you keep whatever it is you have to tell us away, people won't stop wondering," the way he said it held a reflection of understanding and Michelle wondered if he was also thinking about his past. She nodded, but could not bring herself to look him in the eyes. Lee carried on studying her to the point where she felt as if his stare would literally burn holes into the side of her head, making her dismay all the more intense. He eventually ceased his torture, stood to his full hight, and began to call out orders to the other members, taking temporary leadership like he always did when Lilly ran off to be with her father.

They all left to do their jobs, leaving just Ben and Michelle, which was what she wanted. She needed to explain a few things to him. "...I'm sorry about your friend, by the way," she said, breaking the awkward stillness.

"Yeah, me, too. He was the best band teacher our school had, not that it matters much anymore..."

She nodded. "I'm sorry about Travis, too."

This caught his attention and his eyes darted for hers with surprise. "How did you know about Travis?" After her outburst and everything she had said, he had gotten an eerie awareness that there was something not right about her. Even before that, the instant he had come through the gate, she had been staring at him. It was an icy gaze that did not desist until the little girl dragged him away, but what had thrown him off from thinking she was a threat, was that she also looked scared. It was more confusing to him than intimating, but creepy all the same. Ben was not sure if the others had noticed, but he surely had, and it was enough to make him uncomfortable.

Michelle cognized what she had just said and made up yet another lie using the lightest and most casual tone she could, "Oh, Lee told me." She did not like the fact that she was getting better at it. He looked to believe her reply to a certain degree, but the level of uncertainty he felt was clear by just watching his body language. Unfortunately, it was going to get stupendously higher for she was not quite done with him yet. She fathomed how peculiar this would sound to the poor boy, but if she wanted to save these people's lives, she would have to tell him then and there before something bad happened and he did something stupid. "One more thing, if some people come up to you and tell you they have a friend of yours, don't believe them. When they ask you to make a deal with them, don't do it, if they force you, say you will, then make_ absolutely _surethat you tell the rest of us _right away._ Got it?"

The utter bewilderment his face expressed was the most Michelle had ever seen and she slightly regretted bringing it up. If this kid got into trouble, she may have frightened him to where he chose not trust her when she was the only one who could help. "What are you _talking _about?"

It was the reaction she expected, but at least she told him and if it did happen, he would know what to do this time. Preparation is one of the most vital laws of success. "Just trust me on this and remember what I said," she then walked off and disappeared inside her room, leaving Ben alone with his curiosity for the girl who seemed to strangely know it all.

Later that evening, the weather changed from sunny and warm, to gray and muggy. Large, dark clouds accumulated over the motel occupants, promising a storm with distant thunder that slowly got louder as day turned to dusk. Michelle was still in her room, scribbling in a notebook she found in a drawer earlier that week with a pencil that had been intwined between the binding. She had not thought twice about it since, but after the morning's events, she had been inspired to do a little research on this mess she was caught in.

The once clean lined paper was now covered in her writings, charts, and diagrams on everything that had happened thus far and the possible results of the changes she had made. If she had been able to prevent their trip to the dairy farm, then she could change anything she wanted, perhaps, with some work, she could mold it to her liking and fix things for the better. It was like she had been part of the story all along.

She also went over what did and did not work in the original game, which was close to all of it. In fact, the only reason they had not starved to death after episode two, was because of the discovery of the station wagon, but they never went out, so they never found it. It was probably sitting out there right as she jotted things down. However, taking the food would be too much of a risk with the swarms of bandits prowling the nearby woods of the dairy; letting anyone out there would be practically sending their own out to be murdered. Not only that, the Stranger would then contact Clementine, gain her trust, and fill the poor child's head with false promises. Although, the batteries were inside the abandoned car and as far as Clementine knew, the thing would never work again. If they were too just sneak out there with their best guns, take it, and not give the girl the batteries, no one will ever know what happened, or that they were the ones to blame.

No, _she _would be the one at fault and _she _would know what she had done. She remembered what the poor man said about his lost family and she did not have a choice whether to take it or not back then, the game had decided for her, but she had one now. If they went out there and stole the supplies, she would feel like that man's wife's blood was on her hands. It would not be fair, for she had the advantage of knowledge.

Although, her group, her _family _in this worldthat she had really come to care about was slowly starving to death, and she knew of a way to end it. Stealing it was against all her morals that no one's life is ever worth more than another, but they had to do it, if they did not, they would all die for sure. Maybe if she kept telling herself that the wife had died before they took anything, she would feel better about it. The man had survived without all that stuff, right? So, this was not such a bad thing, after all.

She was kidding herself, and she realized that, but she had no other choice here. This was so hard and it was screwed up, but they _needed _to stay alive! Michelle had made her decision and if she continued to think about it, she was afraid she would change her mind. She stuffed the papers in her desk drawer, and left her room without another premise against it.

"_It has to be done,"_ she wordlessly told herself. She would tell Lee and he would believe her. They would head out, and they would have food, medicine, and everything else they needed. "_This _isn't _wrong." _She would tell him it was completely abandoned, he would trust her, and everything would be okay. "_It has to be done..."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six took a lot longer than expected, and, to be honest with you all, I've been _really _lazy lately. I worked on the last five _constantly,_ and I think I just needed a little time off. Now, I'm back and happy to bring you the next chapter.**

**_NOTE:_ Reviews are greatly appreciated, they make me feel better about my writing, and motivate me to do it more, meaning faster updates. Also, I need the support. So, keep 'em coming, and I'll keep updating.**

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The Walking Dead Game**

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"There it is," Michelle announced to Lee, Carley, and Kenny as they approached the station wagon. It had been a bit difficult to find without any directions and in the fading of light from the setting sun, but by going back the way the St. Johns had come, it did not take too long. It was definitely worth it, despite what it would do to the owner. Just seeing all those supplies made Michelle's heart skip with joy and reminded her of how hungry she really was. She had never experienced such hunger as she withstood over the past three months, and it was taking its toll.

Kenny was the first to look inside. "Oh, shit! Lee, look at this! There's enough supplies here to keep us alive for months!"

Michelle's happiness, on the other hand, was also clashing with the fear of being caught and the throbbing tug of guilt she felt in her heart for bringing them here. She pulled her jacket tighter around her against the chilly wind and drizzle left over from the storm. "Great," Michelle said, "grab it, and let's get going. We don't want to be out here too long..."

Lee watched her carefully as she scanned the treeline nervously. He had a sense that she was not telling him everything about their little discovery. She had talked about people living out in the woods, yet, as long as they had been there, he had never seen or heard one of them. She acted as if she could see the future, but what if that was all it was; an act. If there really were bandits out there making deals with other survivors, could she be one of them? It would explain a lot, but it did not add up right. Why would she be helping him if her sole motive was only to destroy them, and when could she have planned it in the first place? He met her on the first day the dead started roaming and had been with him since then, she saved most of them at least once, her emotions were expressed realistically in opposed to trying to deceive them, the only thing that suggested wariness was her ability to predict what would happen so descriptively and accurately. Like the station wagon, for example, she told them it was out there, and she had been right, again. He had heard of fortunetellers and psychics before and had always been skeptical that it really existed, but Michelle was different from the ones he saw on television, he saw it in person. If she truly possessed these powers, then could she know who owned this vehicle? She had only said that it was abandoned, but if she knew it was there and how to get to it, then she had to know more.

"Fuck yes!" Kenny exclaimed, "there's a box full of medical supplies in here!" There was no time to ask questions now, Michelle was right, there was no telling what could be watching them from the darkness of the forest. As the last of the boxes were being carried out, Michelle specifically holding on to the one that contained the batteries, she knew she was also taking away one of the last few straws of her old morality she had left. She wondered how long it would take for that man to return and see what she had done.

When the four returned through the gates of the camp with the boxes held tight, they were greeted almost immediately by a little smiling face. "You're back!" Clementine beamed and jumped with excitement around her caretaker.

"Holy shit! Is that all food?" Lilly asked, exiting her room with an unusually light edge in her tone.

"And medicine," Kenny replied with a cheerful wink. Maybe this could stop their incessant fighting for a while.

Lilly moved closer to examine the contents of the containers. "Fuck, there's enough to feed everyone! So, you _were _right..." The woman said, sending a thoughtful, but not at all accusing glance down at Michelle. Lilly was far too happy to get upset over something that happened everyday at the moment their worst struggle had been demolished. They were going to survive!

"You know what?" Lee perked, "there are _cans _of food in here, I'll bet we could cook them in that small fire pit we found in the RV if we keep the flames down low."

"You mean, like a campfire?" Clementine chirped.

"Kind of, it means, we'd finally get a warm meal." This put the group into an even better mood and it was agreed that each person will share half of one can with someone else. The fire bowl, a lighter, and some coal were all found in the RV's storage compartment, along with the poker. A closer look inside the boxes revealed cans of beans, soups, and assortments of vegetables. Michelle had no fear of Clementine searching through the containers, for she had already found every last battery and stored them away in her pockets. The fire was lit and raised low as to not attract any unwanted guests, the food was cooked and dished out, it was also decided that everyone would receive one cookie along with their meal in celebration of their good luck, which Clementine and Duck were especially pleased with. It was a good night and everyone seemed happy, even grumpy, old Larry had a smile on his face, and it was hard for Michelle to worry about anything, either, despite her circumstances. She still felt that tinge of remorse for the Stranger and his lost family while the group and she enjoyed the stolen food that had been keeping them alive.

After the food was finished and the last of the twinkling, white stars had come out, the survivors sat around the fire, relishing the tranquility of the silence of the night. Quiet was a luxury that was not easy to find when in each others' company, and it made this night all the more enchanting. The flames popped and shot small specks of light into the sky, the wind whispered through the trees, while the moon casted its silver glow over the stretch of the earth, mixing with the bright orange from the fire on the dark pavement. It was relaxing and it set peace, putting all other thoughts of the apocalypse aside, but Michelle could not help but wonder how long the truce would last, apparently she did not have to wait for long.

Kenny cleared his throat and spoke softly in a laid back way, "so, I almost got that old RV runnin.'" No one said a word in response, or even looked up at the older man; unfazed, he continued anyway, "I'll bet in a week tops, she'll be workin' good as new and we can get the hell out of here."

Lilly raised her eyes to him with venom, "You mean, _you'll _be going. I'm not changing my mind about this."

The fisherman let out an aggravated sigh. "I don't care what you decide to do, but when this place falls, we're gonna have to have a goddamn plan, and gettin' a boat is our best bet."

"It's what _you _think is best, Kenny, not what everyone else thinks," she said, her blood was beginning to boil and it was showing in her voice.

"Come on, guys," Lee started, trying to bring things back to its original calm atmosphere, "not now.." They ignored him, and the bickering carried on. Listening to the same argument over and over again for a month really got on Michelle's nerves, and she had already seen how they would turn out if they went with the boat idea , that is what it always had been, not a plan, but an idea, a simple hypothesis that turned out to be a terrible decision. It would lead to the death of all of them; Duck, Katjaa, Carley, Kenny, Lee, and maybe eventually Michelle. A sudden anger tightened in her gut as she listened to the repetitive words of her fellow group members; she had felt it building up ever since the fighting began, and as soon as they found something to be happy about, it still came up. It brought Michelle to her breaking point, and she finally snapped at the two.

"Stop! Just _fucking _stop! Kenny, there are no boats out there in Savannah!"

"How do you kno-"

"I _saw _it, okay? Just like I saw everything else. We'll show up, and there will be _nothing _left; no people, no supplies, and _no boats! _What would we even do if we found one?"

"We'd catch fish and live on the water," he said smartly.

"We can't live in the middle of the ocean, Kenny! It would be too much of a risk to go back to shore for fuel for a grill, gasoline for the boat, we can't _only _eat _fish_ for the rest of our lives, and what about the sun? How long do you think we'd make it under that kind of heat with no protection and nothing but salt water? Fuck, _anything _could happen, storms, other people, all of us living in such close proximity... We'd all lose our minds! _Come on_, Kenny, _think about it!_ There are too many holes in your plan! It _won't work!_" For the first time that Michelle had seen, the man had recognized he had been proved wrong, he took his hat off and rubbed his face in defeat. She sighed, having taken her anger out on the older man, she was able to reason in a more relaxed manner, _"_Lilly, I realize you think this place is our best chance, but it's really not. Pretty soon, all the food and medicine will run out, the bandits will attack, and we'll be _forced _to leave. We _can't _stay here for much longer without facing trouble and we've been _lucky _so far." The woman looked away angerly, but did not counter back.

The argument was now over and they all fell back into the quiesce of the night, only it was not peaceful as before. It was dark and heavy, a soundless noise made loud with anguish and stolen faith.

"...So, what do suggest we do?" Lee asked quietly.

This was the same question she had asked herself many times before; she remembered Christa's plan from way back when how she thought about traveling out to the countryside, and Michelle could not agree more. No walkers, no people, no cold, just them. They could grow their own food, find water, and make a safe place where they could thrive. Though, the more time she spent in this damned world, the more she doubted such a place could ever exist. Maybe it could be done, the hard part would be getting everyone to agree, and to start, she would have to tell them.

"I think we should move further down south where it's warmer and out of the cities. Out to the country, where there aren't many walkers and it's safer." She watched each person's expression while she spoke in a calm voice as they took in each of her words with interest. "We would have to gather as much food and supplies as we could to hold us off until we got there. We would also have to have enough to last us while we grow our own garden, and since there are less walkers, wouldn't it be likely that there'll be more animals we can hunt? This can work, people, but we have to do it soon, while we _have _what we need, the most important thing is that we can't turn on each other like we are now, it will lead to nothing but disaster. If we do this, it will save us all! What do you say?"

It took a moment to think over and Lee was the first to state his opinion. "It's probably the best way."

"What?!" Lilly spat, "you're siding with _her?_ A _kid? _She doesn't know what she's doing!"

"She's making more sense than you two," he defended, "all I hear from you and Kenny is screaming, _constantly. _ Michelle's right, it's not smart to go off on a plan that hasn't fully been thought through and this place _is_ falling apart. I've made my choice, it sounds like it could work."

Lilly's eyes narrowed as rage pulsed through her. Had they all lost their senses?! "Fine! Anyone else want to go along with this _genius _idea?! Carley raised her hand after Lee, following her came Mark, then Katjaa, Kenny, and seeing that all the adults had done it, Ben, as well.

Lilly stood up from her chair, glaring at her opposers. _"Fine! _You all think this _teenager's _so smart, but I've been running this group since day _ONE, _and I never even get the respect I deserve!"

"Come on, Lilly," her father said gently, scorning at the traitors, "we'll sort this out in the morning. You people need to fucking think about what you're doing! My daughter's the one who made this group, built this fence, and sorts our rations for _you, _and this is how you repay her?" Larry left no time for comebacks, as he had already stomped off.

"So, it's settled then?" Carley asked after Lilly and Larry had disappeared inside their rooms. Carley had taken notice to Lee's increase in authority lately and how they all looked up to him, which was not a surprise, considering everything he had done for them in just three months. She knew if he were the one running things, their life out there would go just a little smoother, but he had seemed to do that all on his own. She admired that.

"I guess so," Lee confirmed, "I mean, it's not just doable, we have a plan here, and a good one at that."

"We can get seeds for vegetables in a flower shop in town," informed Katjaa with a smile, "I've always loved visiting that little store whenever we drove through Macon."

"Okay, so we know where to get those," Kenny said, "now I just have to get that RV running, so we can get our asses out of here as soon as possible."

"Wait, so we're really gonna do this?" Michelle asked excitedly.

"You had a good idea, Michelle," Lee said, "that's what we needed."

"_You have no clue how badly..."_

The following weeks were spent preparing, planning, and collecting for their evacuation. It was determined that they would head south-west, somewhere close to Florida's border and find a farmhouse with a few acers of room for the crops they would grow. The farm would also need to be a good, long distance away from any large towns or cities where more walkers should gather, but they needed to be stationed near at least a small town where they could collect medicine when it was necessary. Finding and boiling water would not be too difficult, there had to be clean streams, rivers, or even wells around where they were going. It had taken a lot of convincing to get their stubborn leader and her father to come along, and eventually, they had to. No one was listening to Lilly any longer, for she did not want to take part in leaving, but with every other person in her group using all their time on the on the plan, she soon realized that she had no choice but to go along with it, and Larry soon afterward.

After four weeks, the motel survivors had gathered all the supplies they could find, searching stores and vacated homes for every bit of it. Lee, Kenny, and Mark were sent out to do their final run in downtown Macon; they would be leaving for their new home in the morning. As the others saw that day as the last night in their temporary camp, Michelle recognized it as the evening the bandit attack would have happened, leaving her on edge. She had been keeping a close eye on Ben a lot more than usual those past few weeks, and it seemed as if he had taken her advice in hand because nothing had shown up off. The stocks had come up normal, no signs of pink X's anywhere, and all the flashlights were intact. Michelle had even checked the grate to make sure there were no stolen necessities hidden inside, and to her great relief, there was no such thing. Although, the attack would have been more of a result of the St. Johns being vanquished, which was what caused the bandits to make the deal in the first place.

They were doing great, and the next day, they would be doing even better, that is, if it stayed that way. Michelle had learned better to rely on just hope in this universe; everything she did had to be done just right to enable her survival, but even an apocalypse could not bring her down at that moment in time. She had so much to look forward to now that they had somewhere to go, and they _all_ would make it through this, Michelle would not let that change for an instant.

The quiet evening comforted the young teen as she lay sprawled out on the white, outdoor couch, watching the sun fade away into darkness, dissolving the blue sky into a mesh of pinks, oranges, and purples as day transformed into night. She could not remember the last time she was this happy since this nightmare began, and it did not come unwelcomed. It was not just her, either; every other member seemed to be in better spirits since the plan had fallen into place, even Lilly and Larry warmed up to it after a while. Maybe not completely, but they were eager, just the same. A few fireflies flickered their brilliant, natural light far above her head, adding their bright colors to sunset up high. Crickets chirped all around her and filled the lot with their rhythmic song. The sound had never bothered her as did some, it was comforting; soft and sweet, she had not even felt herself drifting away into sleep.

Even her dreams were peaceful; she had been walking down her favorite forest trail with her little brother's tiny hand held tightly in hers. In her dream, she was home, but when she looked into his sweet, brown eyes, it felt like she had been gone a thousand years. The emotion he expressed was mutual, and as she bent down to bring his little frame into a hug, the tears came, wetting his shirt, but she knew he did not mind, his soaked right through. She never wanted to let the feeling of him in her arms go, she missed her home, her family, her closest friends... She was not sure if she would ever see them again, and, in her mind, she knew it was only a dream, that it would not last, yet, she still wondered if he felt her there, too.

Clashing woke her out of her sad, but pleasant fantasy as Mark, Kenny, and Lee pushed the two dumpsters that served as their gate aside to allow them entry, bringing another bag filled with food and medicine home. When she had woken up more fully, she noticed the wetness that stuck to her cheeks. She was still there.

The rest of the night was surprisingly calm; there was no buzz of excitement for the departure that would take place early the following morning. It had been a long few weeks, with lots of work and responsibilities to take of before they left, the survivors used their last night at home to rest; they would need it, they all knew that. Michelle watched on, all the people she had come to know, came to care about... She had saved them all, she had done it, what she was meant to do. It brought a smile through her tears, and made her heart a bit warmer at the thought of it. Most of Michelle's attention, as usual, was on Lee, checking up on everyone with sincere concern, and as he climbed up the steps to the second story where Carley stood, observing it all, as well, from a higher perspective, Michelle witnessed that same kiss on his cheek. A small, content smile crossed Michelle's face, as she, then, retreated back to her motel room for the night. Everything would be okay, she had done it, and they were alive. All she had to worry about now was finding a safe new home for them to live for a long time. The best part of that was, all that that pressure was not resting all on of her shoulders, the group would hold it up together as a whole,

because Michelle had done it, fixed it all. Nothing stood in their way now, but open road, and they would make it there, she knew they would. She would not quit, as many already had, and she would not let herself become one of _them. _They would get there, find their home, and Michelle would one day find the way back to hers, too.

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**I know it was shorter than the last couple, but it felt like a good place to stop. By the way, just wanted to share this with you guys; I messed up when writing that one part where Lee thinks Michelle's psychic, and accidently wrote physics, instead. So, it said, "He had heard of fortunetellers and physics before and had always been skeptical that it really existed," and I somehow pictured him flying over rooftops and shit, and thinking that was perfectly okay. So when I was rereading the chapter for editing, I noticed it and sat there and laughed for about two minutes. It's three days later, and I'm laughing right now.**


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